Extended life road system and method

ABSTRACT

A roadway is widened preferably by no more than 36 inches to move current traffic lanes on state and interstate highways and county roads to control the wear of these roadways. After a period of time with normal road wear taking place along a first pair of strips in each demarked travel lane where the tires normally ride, the travel lanes are shifted preferably by 36+−inches. The old roadway lines are removed and new lines added shifted by 36+−inches. After the shift, the pair of strips of the road wear are now shifted to a second pair of strips in each demarked travel lane where there has been little wear, thus extending the life of the roadway, then after a period of time these lanes can be shifted back 18 inches, then shifted back to the original position and repeated until the roadway needs to be resurfaced, thus further extending the life of the roadway.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to roadway for vehicles and in particular to a system for developing and maintaining a roadway which distributes the wear on the roadway from the tires of traffic using the roadway by moving traffic lanes on state and interstate highways and county roads to control the wear of these roadways and to extend the life of the roadway and to provide a safer environment for the motorist.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Current road systems have a set pattern of permanent lanes, which means lanes never change location other than for construction or repair, so the exact same surface is traveled, until the weight finally breaks down that piece of the road which is traveled. A recent project study showed that repairing asphalt pavements on major highways costs an average of $39,000 per lane per mile, and $120,000 per lane per mile for concrete.

Another cost of current road systems is keeping motorists stuck in traffic during construction. This is known in the industry as “user delay cost” which should be considered in any analysis of any road life-cycle cost. U.S. motorists spend 50 hours a year stuck in traffic, according to a September, 2000 report in the AASHTO Journal. On a busy interstate highway, traffic delays from a single construction project can easily cost a local economy more than two million dollars per day. This does not include the personal cost of death, injury and property damage caused by such construction.

While there have been many attempts to provide novel marking systems and other means for diverting traffic patterns on existing roadways and other vehicle-bearing surfaces, most are complex or expensive or both and deal with directing traffic without consideration for extending the life of the roadway.

Jelinek, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,287,685, discloses a system of curbs that may be lowered to be flush with the pavement or raised to provide a barrier for a variable capacity highway.

Woods, Jr., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,200, shows a highway lane divider barrier and apparatus for shifting the barrier, to periodically alter the median location of the roadway to accommodate differing traffic flow patterns for different times of the day.

German patent disclosure number DE 41 35 693 describes a novel marking system of traffic rotaries that utilizes a spiral marking pattern, rather than concentric circles.

Other patents and applications of interest include Moorhead US application number US 2001/0046413 A1, Troemel et al. US application number US 2002/0076276 A1, King U.S. Pat. No. 1,816,379, Harrington et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,412, Woods U.S. Pat. No. 3,188,927, Reinitzhuber et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,020, Chang U.S. Pat. No. 2,945,745, Pemberton U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,249, Raswant U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,927,288 and 5,092,705, Chen U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,020, Barel U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,270, Namanny U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,744, Schindler et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,780 B1 and Japanese patent number 6-228903.

What is needed is a relatively inexpensive and easy to implement roadway system and method which require less maintenance and construction for repairs and also to extend the life of the roadway so that the roadway does not need resurfacing as frequently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a roadway system which allows for shifting the location of the lanes on the roadway slightly to one side of the currently used lanes by providing a slightly wider roadway (36 inches) and moving the lanes over approximately 36 inches so that the tires of motorists' vehicles travel over a different strip of roadway which normally would not be used then after a period of time these lanes can be shifted back 18 inches, then shifted back to its original position and repeated until the roadway needs to be resurfaced, and thereby at least more than doubling the life of the roadway by spreading the wear over the entire surface of the roadway rather than allowing travel over the same lanes and wearing out the roadway prematurely along the strips where the tires normally travel.

A corollary object of the present invention is to reduce the costs of roadways by extending their life and require half as many or fewer road resurfacings.

Another corollary object of the present invention is to reduce the maintenance required on roadways by shifting the lanes over before the normally traveled strips of the road are worn out by the tires and no maintenance is required for a longer period of time.

In brief, the Extended Life Road System™ of the present invention is a road system designed so the standard traffic lane location can be changed, which allows the tires on motorist's vehicles to travel on a part of the road surface that has never been previously driven on with frequency, thereby allowing the weight to be distributed over at least twice the road surface as do the permanent lanes in the current road systems now being used. Therefore, roads and highways would require far less repair, reducing construction cost, while reducing the impact on local business, and also reducing death, injury and property damage caused by such construction.

The Extended Life Road System™ can be accomplished by adding no more than 36″ of pavement to the width of each side of the road. And periodically moving the paint line over +−36″ to distribute the weight. 36″ is the maximum width needed for each side of the highway, regardless of number of traffic lanes.

Anywhere the Extended Life Road System™ can be used, on county roads and state highways, an interstate highways, it will substantially reduce road repair and the delays and the accidents, deaths, injuries and property damage that is normally caused by such construction.

After the necessary widening of the highway, moving the lanes for extended road life requires the simple procedure of the removal of the painted lines and the painting of new lines on the roadway. This could be done at night when the traffic is light using a series of line removal equipment and paint trucks that are currently used in road construction and repair.

For city, state and county roadways with the two-way standard roadway system without a barrier divider, each traffic lane could be widened 18 inches (+/− depending on the specific roadway) but not more than 36 inches on each side for roadways that have a center divider.

The added width will depend on the specific highway as some highways may already have enough or nearly enough width to apply this new Extended Life Road System™ where little or no widening would be required.

An advantage of the present invention is that it extends the life of a roadway.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it reduces the need for roadway maintenance and repair.

An additional advantage of the present invention is that it reduces the frequency of resurfacing.

One more advantage of the present invention is that it saves time and money normally lost with roadway construction causing traffic delays.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a smoother, trouble-free roadway for an extended period of time, double or triple the usual time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other details of my invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in which drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a prior art roadway having a standard width slightly greater than the actual travel lanes on the roadway;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the present invention having a roadway which is slightly wider (preferably by 3 feet) than the standard prior art roadway of FIG. 1 and showing the travel lanes indicated by standard roadway lines and the strips of roadway normally traversed by the tires of the vehicles on the roadway;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the present invention having a roadway which is slightly wider (preferably by 3 feet) than the standard prior art roadway of FIG. 1 and showing the travel lanes moved over 3 feet to the right indicated by standard roadway lines and showing the new strips of roadway now traversed by the tires of the vehicles on the roadway with the travel lanes moved to the right.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a section of a prior art roadway 30 wherein the width of the roadway from the left edge 38L to the right edge 38R of the roadway is only sufficient to accommodate the designated number of lanes, in this case two, by a centerline 34 and two side lines 32 and 36.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, a roadway system for extending the life of a roadway comprises providing a lateral extension 21 of roadway surface on a roadway creating an extra side surface along the length of the roadway, in this case shown adjacent to the right edge 28R but could also be adjacent to the left edge 28L or with some added to each side, so that an extended width roadway 20 is formed. The extended width roadway 20 has a set of first designated travel lanes, a centerline 24A and two side lines 22A and 26A, demarked on the extended roadway for a period of time with a first pair of strips 33A of the roadway surface normally bearing the wheels of a line of vehicles in each of the two travel lanes, as seen in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 3, the set of designated travel lanes are shifted laterally on the extended roadway 20 after a period of time to create an alternate new set of second designated travel lanes, a new centerline 24B and two new side lines 22B and 26B, demarked on the extended roadway with a second pair of strips 33B of the roadway surface normally bearing the wheels of a line of vehicles in each of the travel lanes, the second pair of strips 33B in FIG. 3 being different from the first pair of strips 33A in FIG. 2.

The extra side surface 21 is at least one fourth the width of one of the travel lanes thereby widening the roadway surface by an amount capable of enabling a shift of the lanes sufficiently great to cause the second pair of strips 33B, in FIG. 3, of the roadway surface normally bearing the wheels of a line of vehicles in each of the travel lanes to be different from the first pair of strips 33A, in FIG. 2. The extra side surface is at least eighteen inches thereby widening the roadway surface by the eighteen inches and preferably the extra side surface is thirty-six inches, which could be added as 18 inches on each side.

The designated travel lanes may demarked on the extended roadway by having a coating, such as paint or adhesive strips or vinyl or other coating means, on the roadway visually different from the roadway itself so that the coating is clearly visible as roadway lines, 22A, 26A, 22B, and 26B, by motorists traveling on the roadway. When the set of designated travel lanes are shifted is position laterally on the extended roadway, as shown in FIG. 3, a means for covering the coating forming the first designated travel lanes demarked on the extended roadway is needed which may be a tar-based coating or other means making the coating visually indistinguishable from the roadway. Alternately the coating an the first designated travel lanes may be removed roadway by a means for removing it such as a burning means or scraping means or chemical means or other removing means.

Alternately, the designated travel lanes may be demarked on the extended roadway by imbedding a series of marking means, such as a series of reflectors or reflective strips, on the roadway visually different from the roadway itself so that the series of marking means is clearly visible as roadway lines by motorists traveling on the roadway, the series of marking means being capable of being removed when the set of designated travel lanes are shifted in position laterally on the extended roadway 20.

In practice, a method for extending the life of a roadway comprises:

a first step of adding a lateral extension 21 of roadway surface on a roadway creating an extra side surface along the length of the roadway, so that an extended width roadway 20 is formed, as seen in FIG. 2, the extended width roadway 21 having a set of first designated travel lanes demarked by roadway lines 22A, 24A, and 26A on the extended roadway for a period of time with a first pair of strips 33A of the roadway surface normally bearing the wheels of a line of vehicles in each of the travel lanes, and a second step of shifting the position of the set of designated travel lanes laterally on the extended roadway 20 after a period of time to create an alternate new set of second designated travel lanes demarked by roadway lines 22B, 24B and 26B on the extended roadway 20, as seen in FIG. 3, with a second pair of strips 33B of the roadway surface normally bearing the wheels of a line of vehicles in each of the travel lanes, the second pair of strips 33B in FIG. 3 being different from the first pair of strips 33A in FIG. 2.

The method comprises adding the extra side surface having a width at least one fourth the width of one of the travel lanes thereby widening the roadway surface by an amount capable of enabling a shift of the lanes sufficiently great to cause the second pair of strips 33B, in FIG. 3, of the roadway surface normally bearing the wheels of a line of vehicles in each of the travel lanes to be different from the first pair of strips, 33 a, in FIG. 2, wherein the extra side surface is at least eighteen inches and preferably thirty-six inches and could be added to either side or have a portion added to each side.

The method further comprising the step of placing a coating, such as paint or vinyl, or other coating means, on the roadway to demark the designated travel lanes on the extended roadway, the coating being visually different from the roadway itself so that the coating is clearly visible as roadway lines by motorists traveling on the roadway and when the set of designated travel lanes are shifted laterally on the extended roadway the step of covering the coating with a means, such as a road tar-based coating or other covering means, for covering the coating of the first designated travel lanes demarked on the extended roadway or alternately, the step of removing the coating with a means, such as a burning means or scraping means or other removing means, for removing the coating.

Alternately, the method further comprising the step of imbedding a series of marking means, such as reflectors or reflective strips, in the roadway for demarking the designated travel lanes on the extended roadway, the series of marking means on the roadway being visually different from the roadway itself so that the series of marking means is clearly visible as roadway lines by motorists traveling on the roadway, and, when the set of designated travel lanes are shifted laterally on the extended roadway, the step of removing the series of marking means with a means for removing the series of marking means from the first designated travel.

The second set of roadway lines, 22B, 24B, and 26B may be added in a similar fashion to the first or use other variations.

It is understood that the preceding description is given merely by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention and that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed. 

1. A roadway system providing periodic long term normal traffic flow partial lane shifts along an entire length of a roadway surface for extending the life of a roadway, the system comprising: a roadway surface comprising a hard vehicle bearing surface having a number of travel lanes marked by lane divider lines thereon, each of the travel lanes having a pair of wear strips formed in the roadway surface by receiving wear from tires of vehicles traveling over the roadway surface repeatedly following the same path of travel in each of the travel lanes, the pair of wear strips comprising a spaced parallel pair of roadway sections along the length of the roadway surface in each of the travel lanes, each of the wear strips having a width not greater than a quarter of the width of a travel lane, and a lateral extension of the roadway surface by at least the width of a wear strip along the entire length of the roadway surface creating an extra side surface along the length of the roadway, so that an extended width roadway is formed for laterally shifting the location of the travel lanes on the roadway by a wear strip width, the extended width roadway having a set of first designated travel lanes marked by first lane divider lines on the extended width roadway in a first laterally positioned location on the roadway surface along the entire length of the roadway surface for long term normal traffic flow over a period of time with a first pair of wear strips formed in the roadway surface in each of the travel lanes, and the set of designated travel lanes having a shifted position laterally on the extended width roadway to a second location on the roadway surface spaced apart from the first position on the roadway surface by a width of a wear strip along the entire length of the roadway surface after a scheduled period of time to create an alternate new set of second designated travel lanes with the first lane divider lines removed and replaced by second lane divider lines spaced apart from the first lane divider lines on the extended width roadway for long term normal traffic flow over a period of time replacing the first designated travel lanes with a second pair of wear strips formed on the roadway surface by receiving wear from the tires of vehicles in each of the travel lanes in the shifted position, the second pair of wear strips being located on relatively unworn surfaces of the roadway surface spaced apart from the first pair of wear strips to distribute wear from vehicles over an entire roadway surface over time to extend a usable life of the roadway surface.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The roadway system of claim 1 wherein the extra side surface is at least eighteen inches thereby widening the roadway surface by the eighteen inches.
 4. The roadway system of claim 1 wherein the extra side surface is between eighteen inches and thirty-six inches.
 5. The roadway system of claim 1 wherein the designated travel lanes are marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway by having a coating on the roadway visually different from the roadway itself so that the coating is clearly visible as roadway lane divider lines by motorists traveling on the roadway.
 6. The roadway system of claim 5 further comprising a means for covering the first designated travel lanes marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway when the set of designated travel lanes have a shifted position laterally on the extended roadway.
 7. The roadway system of claim 5 further comprising a means for removing the first designated travel lanes marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway when the set of designated travel lanes have a shifted position laterally on the extended roadway.
 8. The roadway system of claim 1 wherein the designated travel lanes are marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway by imbedding a series of marking means on the roadway visually different from the roadway itself so that the series of marking means is clearly visible as roadway lane divider lines by motorists traveling on the roadway, the series of marking means being capable of being removed when the set of designated travel lanes have a shifted position laterally on the extended roadway.
 9. A method for extending the life of a roadway by providing periodic long term normal traffic flow partial lane shifts along an entire length of a roadway surface, the method comprising: a first step of adding a lateral extension of roadway surface on a roadway, the roadway surface comprising a hard vehicle bearing surface having a number of travel lanes marked by lane divider lines thereon, each of the travel lanes having a pair of wear strips formed in the roadway surface by receiving wear from tires of vehicles traveling over the roadway surface repeatedly following the same path of travel in each of the travel lanes, the pair of wear strips comprising a spaced parallel pair of roadway sections along the length of the roadway surface in each of the travel lanes, each of the wear strips having a width not greater than a quarter of the width of a travel lane, creating an extra side surface along the entire length of the roadway surface, the lateral extension of the roadway surface width being at least the width of a wear strip, thereby forming an extended width roadway for laterally shifting the location of the travel lanes on the roadway by a wear strip width, the extended width roadway having a set of first designated travel lanes marked by first lane divider lines on the extended width roadway in a first laterally positioned location on the roadway surface along the entire length of the roadway surface for long term normal traffic flow over for a period of time with a first pair of wear strips formed in the roadway surface in each of the travel lanes, and a second step of shifting the position of the set of designated travel lanes laterally on the extended roadway after a period of time by removing the first lane divider lines and marking second lane divider lines spaced apart from the first lane divider lines to create an alternate new set of second designated travel lanes marked on the extended width roadway for long term normal traffic flow over a period of time replacing the first designated travel lanes with a second pair of wear strips formed on the roadway surface by receiving wear from the tires of vehicles in each of the travel lanes in the shifted position, the second pair of wear strips being located on relatively unworn surfaces of the roadway surface spaced apart from the first pair of wear strips to distribute wear from vehicles over an entire roadway surface over time to extend a usable life of the roadway surface.
 10. (canceled)
 11. The method of claim 9 wherein the extra side surface is at least eighteen inches thereby widening the roadway surface by the eighteen inches.
 12. The method of claim 9 wherein the extra side surface is between eighteen inches and thirty-six inches.
 13. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of placing a coating on the roadway to mark by lane divider lines the designated travel lanes on the extended roadway, the coating being visually different from the roadway itself so that the coating is clearly visible as roadway lane divider lines by motorists traveling on the roadway.
 14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of covering the coating with a means for covering the coating of the first designated travel lanes marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway when the set of designated travel lanes are shifted laterally on the extended roadway.
 15. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of removing the coating with a means for removing the coating of the first designated travel lanes marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway when the set of designated travel lanes are shifted laterally on the extended roadway.
 16. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of imbedding a series of marking means in the roadway for marking by lane divider lines the designated travel lanes on the extended roadway, the series of marking means on the roadway being visually different from the roadway itself so that the series of marking means is clearly visible as roadway lane divider lines by motorists traveling on the roadway.
 17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of removing the series of marking means with a means for removing the series of marking means from the first designated travel lanes when the set of designated travel lanes are shifted laterally on the extended roadway. 